Bookplayer's 50 Headcanon Questions

I was considering whether or not to start posting blog entries when I found GhostOfHeraclitus' answer to 50 headcanon questions. It seemed interesting enough, so why not?

My caveat, though, is that anything I haven't directly used in one of my stories might be changed if either the show contradicts it or if I find something more compelling than my own musings.

The Princesses:

1. How old are Celestia and Luna?

Never really thought about their age. I guess they were around for a few centuries before their fight and Nightmare Moon’s banishment, so perhaps about 1500 years?

I do consider that they were born to mortal parents and outlived them. I have yet to decide who the mortal parents were.

2. How old is Cadance?

A few years older than Twilight. I prefer to think of her as ascended, and for the most part still maturing in power during the first two seasons, because otherwise her absence before the wedding makes even less sense.

3. Were Celestia and Luna always alicorns, or did they ascend?

Born alicorns, but ascended into power. I consider that originally Celestia and Luna were more mundane, mortal, more or less like Twilight appears to currently be; Celestia was talented in magic as a whole and had stronger earth pony magic, while Luna was a better flier with more pegasus magic and specialized in dream magic and illusions, but neither had power over celestial bodies. Gaining power over the Sun and Moon happened afterwards, and as a side-effect granted them immortality.

4. Are Cadance and Twilight immortal?

No; what gives Luna and Celestia's immortality is not their race, but their connection with celestial bodies. Twilight and Cadance could attain immortality, though, either by inheriting the connection to celestial bodies that Celestia and Luna have (making whoever gave up on that connection mortal again) or by finding a way to tie themselves to some important concept or power in a similar way.

5. Have there been other alicorns in the past?

None that Celestia and Luna know about, except perhaps their parents. Which means that, if any alicorn existed, he or she was not important enough to merit appearing in history and managed to stay hidden to such a degree that Celestia (and Luna, if before her banishment) couldn’t find.

On the other hoof, Celestia and Luna know about the possibility of ascension, and take seriously the possibility of other alicorns existing or having existed before. Also, in my headcanon the Alicorn Amulet was originally created as the central element for an unicorn-devised ascension rite; I haven’t decided if the rite was attempted or not, or if it did succeed or would have succeeded.

I also don’t discard the possibility of another natural born alicorn, though that would be perhaps one for every few dozen generations at most, likely even rarer. If I ever use one of those in my stories he or she won’t be contemporary of Twilight; too great a coincidence. (Unless Twilight is the mother, but I don’t do shipping.)

6. How much authority do Celestia and Luna have in Equestria?

In theory, relatively little outside the guard. Absolute control over the castle, a good degree of control over Canterlot, the handling of diplomacy, but little actual control apart from that.

In practice, Celestia has over a thousand years of experience in the political game, plus all the contacts and influence to wield power almost anywhere in Equestria to an astonishing degree, at least as long as her reign is perceived as beneficial to the country. On top of that she knows enough dirty secrets to ruin almost any pony or family that decides to go against her.

She would be vulnerable to a coordinated attempt to deprive her of political power, but that would have reavy political costs to everypony involved and the result wouldn’t be certain; so, as long as Celestia doesn’t abuse her power, even her political enemies are happy having her as princess.

Luna, on the other hoof, doesn’t have that. Celestia is attempting to tutor her about everything needed to run Equestria — in other words, where and how to pressure in order to get things done, and what to do to neutralize each potential foe — but that will take time. Luna does have an ace up her sleeve: her dream magic, but overtly using it for political purposes will likely alienate the nobles and politicians, and in my headcanon her dream magic can be countered relatively easily by anypony knowledgeable.

7. Does Shining Armor rule The Crystal Empire along side of Cadance?

In theory, no. In practice, yes. He has a different skill set compared with Cadance, and they work better as rulers together, even if Shining Armor doesn’t hold power officially.

8. Other than Twilight, Luna, and Cadance, what relationships have been important to Celestia in her lifetime (students, close friends, lovers, family)?

I like the idea of Star Swirl being a previous pupil of Celestia, and the fact he seems to be related to time spells helps defuse any timeline inconsistencies.

Apart from that, many acquaintances but few actual friends. Likely also some lovers, but always using magic to disguise herself and never revealing that she was the princess.

I like to picture Philomena as being nearly as old as Celestia herself, and a kernel of consistency in the life of an immortal that sees everything changing around her.

Ponies and Equestrian Culture:

9. Are there still cultural differences between earth ponies, pegasi, and unicorns, or is the culture homogeneous by the time shown in canon? Are there cultural stereotypes (positive or negative)?

Partially. I consider that there are cities and villages where one race is still predominant and where old traditions are kept, and to a some extent cultural stereotypes actually apply. But it’s more a matter of the places than the races; ponies living in a cosmopolitan city are exposed to a mixed culture and, for the most part, don’t display cultural race stereotypes (though they do display biological and magical stereotypes).

10. Are there foods or items native to Cloudsdale that are uncommon on the ground? Are there foods or items on the ground that are uncommon in Cloudsdale?

Clouds of different kinds are used in refined Pegasi cuisine, and only readily available when there are pegasi available to handle them, and even then not in as many varieties as in Cloudsdale thanks to the weather factory.

As for things uncommon in cloudsdale, anything that is both large and passes through clouds — stone or metal statues, for example. I also assume that pegasi tend to have a somewhat different preference when it comes to food, often favoring lighter food, meaning that while it’s not impossible to find any ground food on Cloudsdale, what is readily available is different.

11. Can all unicorns learn all spells, given the time and effort spent practicing them, or is magical talent usually limited in some way?

Not exactly limited, but rather specialized and focused. Unicorns learn spells related to their specialties more easily and can cast them with less effort. Conversely, spells opposite to an unicorn’s talent require more effort both to learn and to cast. Twilight is an exception in that she doesn’t seem to have anything opposite to her talent; I consider Celestia to be something close, but with a lack of talent for dream magic and a harder time pulling illusions.

12. Earth pony magic: Does it exist? What is it?

Enhanced strength, endurance, and magically enhanced skill with their talents, sometimes even allowing them to do what is impossible in our world (like actually growing rocks and manipulating their composition). Similar to Unicorns, I consider that earth ponies can actually “learn” the enhanced skills of other earth ponies, and perform them, though it requires great effort.

I see pegasi magic in a similar way too. Walking on clouds and some kind of tactile levitation (to be able to pull sky chariots) are universal, but other things like influencing the weather are tied to the pegasus’ talent, and for a pegasus that doesn’t have that as a talent it would have to be learned at great effort.

13. Some pony families we’ve seen seem to have naming conventions (the Apples, Twilight’s family) and others don’t appear to (Rarity’s family, Pinkie’s family), which is more common? Are there reasons for one or the other?

Having no naming convention is more common, but some of the families with naming convention are huge. I also consider that many ponies adopt a nickname after they receive their cutie mark or grow up, often related to their cutie mark, though my ideas about cutie marks make this partially superfluous.

14. How much formal schooling is an average, middle class pony expected to complete?

The equivalent of middle school. Ponies mature faster and can learn whatever else they need on the job, so to speak.

15. What’s the average lifespan for a pony? At what age is a pony expected to be independent of their parents?

The same average lifespan as a human, but with magic allowing some ponies to live far longer than that, even if they are not immortal; a really old pony might be really old indeed.

Ponies tend to become independent earlier than humans. Not that they are expected to; rather, their society is safer than ours, they place less importance on material possessions, ponies mature physically earlier, and a pony can survive by grazing if needed, which means they have a far smaller hurdle to jump in becoming independent than a human, and thus parents are far more willing to let their children try.

16. Are there roughly an equal number of male and female ponies?

More females than males, but not by much. Perhaps 3 females for every 2 males.

17. How informed are most ponies about things that happen in other parts of Equestria? What about other parts of the world?

Depends on the place. In a small town like Ponyville, fairly uninformed except for big events or things that directly affect them; in Canterlot or Manehattan, fairly well informed on what happens in Equestria, and some information on what happens in the rest of the world.

The Main Characters:

18. How old are the Mane Six? Spike? The CMC?

Mane Six: 15 to 17. Spike and the CMC: around 8. But I avoid giving ages and I’m not aiming at temporal consistency (yet).

19. Did Fluttershy remain on the ground after getting her cutie mark? Were she and Rainbow Dash friends all along, or did they drift apart for a while?

Fluttershy remained on the ground, building her cottage with the help of her parents and the animals she befriended. Rainbow Dash, as a very good flier with great endurance, was able to visit as much as she wanted, and did so frequently until she moved to Ponyville herself.

They weren't actually close before the sonic rainboom, but Rainbow Dash was concerned when Fluttershy wasn't there after the race, which led to them talking and becoming friends; defending Fluttershy allowed Rainbow Dash to break through her timid demeanor.

20. Rarity and Applejack both seem to have grown up in Ponyville. What were their interactions like before the show?

Cordial enough, but not close friends. Too different to become close without something else to draw them together.

21. What do Twilight and Spike consider their relationship to be?

They don’t think about it, but it would be like little brother and big sister, with the little brother looking up to his elder sibling for direction and inspiration.

22. When did Pinkie move in with the Cakes? Is she a worker who rents a room, an apprentice, or is there some other relationship?

Pinkie was, in a sense, adopted by the Cakes as soon as she moved into Ponyville. I haven’t decided yet, but she might actually own part of the Sugarcube Corner building, which is why she gets the huge two story bedroom.

23. Who among the Mane Six had the best parents growing up? The worst parents?

No perfect parents anywhere, perhaps excluding Applejack’s, but she lost them early. Pinkie’s and Fluttershy’s couldn’t fully relate to their respective daughters, Twilight’s and Rainbow Dash’s were overwhelmed by and not prepared to deal with their daughter’s talents, and Rarity’s were often absent thanks to their work and personalities.

24. Why didn’t the CMC hang out more/know each other before Call of the Cutie?

Not much in common before that. A couple years before almost every pony their age was a blank flank; they only had something to relate as they found themselves among the last ones without a cutie mark.

25. Is Scootaloo an orphan? Will she ever be able to fly?

Not an orphan.

As for being able to fly, my pet theory is that she won’t ever be able to hover or to take off or land while standing still, but she might develop the skill to actually fly — and, when she does, she will have really bad maneuvering but really great speed, perhaps exceeding Rainbow Dash. Think of her like an airplane compared with the other pegasi being like a helicopter.

26. Will Apple Bloom’s cutie mark involve an apple in some way, even if it’s unrelated to farming or baking?

My theory about cutie marks is that they are how the pony him or herself would see the representation of his or her talent, as if the pony had drawn the mark, and this takes into account the pony’s personality and upbringing.

Apple Bloom believes cutie marks of Apple family ponies have apples, or something apple-related, in them; thus, this belief will guarantee that hers will too, even if how apples relate to her talents doesn’t make sense for anypony else.

27. How is Sweetie Belle’s relationship with their parents different than Rarity’s was?

With the parents, not really different. But her upbringing was completely different.

She has a big sister that cares for her above and beyond what her parents did for Rarity. While Rarity sometimes had to stay alone, and thus became independent earlier, Sweetie Belle always had somepony to look after her.

As a concrete example, imagine Sweetie Belle’s birthday in For Whom the Sweetie Belle Toils; now imagine that same scene without Rarity. That is the difference.

Side and Background Characters:

28. Is Mr. Cake the father of the Cake twins or not?

Yes, he is.

My take on which race a pony belongs to is that all ponies have the genetic makeup to grow wings and a horn, and independently of genetics have some of the magic of every pony race, with the dominant kind of magic determining which kind of pony the foal is born as, and the kind of pony then allowing the corresponding kind of magic to manifest more easily. The magic balance in a pony is tied to the parents’ balance, but with some randomness thrown in.

Twins like that are exceedingly rare, though. Also, incidentally, it means that an ascended alicorn doesn’t change DNA.

29. Are Big Mac and Cheerilee an item, romantically?

No, or at least not yet. They have some story together, though, and consider each other good friends, good enough to joke about being romantically involved.

30. How did Prince Blueblood get his title?

By being declared the legitimate successor of his family. The pony declared the rightful successor of his family is awarded the title of Prince or Princess. He is not as incompetent as The Best Night Ever paints him to be, though; quite the contrary, actually, as he is able to use his connections in a similar way to Celestia herself. He is actually among Celestia’s most prized political assets.

31. Is Silver Spoon equally as bad as Diamond Tiara?

No, but might become so if she doesn’t break away soon. If she does break away there is some possibility of her becoming friends with the CMC.

On the other hoof, I don’t think Diamond Tiara is exactly evil, and I do believe that she will be forced to change as she grows up and gains importance in the community. she will grow to love some things and, while mostly an antagonist for the CMC, will be somepony that can be reasoned with and an ally on occasion.

32. Is Zecora’s magic common among zebras?

Uncommon, but not too rare. And actually learnable by ponies.

33. Why does Daring Do publish her stories as fiction?

Dissimulation. Makes most ponies think that the dangerous things described in her books are fictional, not only preventing many from seeking them, but making anypony that still wants to find them seem as loony as a human that wants to find the Crystal Skull. She changes anything that could be useful for anypony that actually knows for a fact that her exploits are real.

Plus, funding for her journeys.

34. Do you have a strong headcanon for any non-speaking or one line background ponies that you want to share?

The only one I can think of right now is Derpy and Dinky being Discord’s friends and going to his house to play from time to time. Discord loves just watching them, Derpy in special; she creates her own kind of chaos.

But for the most time, if I want a character for any role that is not purely a background one in my stories, I go for an OC.

Other Species:

35. Does Equestria differentiate between speaking and non-speaking species, in terms of respect, rights and legal responsibilities? Is there some other line or scale used? (For example, how are cows classified? Diamond Dogs? A chimera?)

Up to a point Equestria bows to the wishes of the creature itself. Some species want to be seen as full citizens; mules, zebras, and likely others. Individuals, including ones that would be otherwise seen as monsters or are from races that don’t want full citizenship, can also opt for that. This includes sapient races unable to speak.

Species or individuals that don’t want the full set of rights according to Equestrian law are exempt from some responsibilities, but lose some rights, including the right to own land and to vote. Cows mostly go for that; different ways of thinking.

36. Do other speaking species form their own nations, or are all nations largely integrated, with some having larger populations of a species than others?

Most nations have small populations of other species, but have a predominant species, sometimes even with rules that prevent minority species from having political rights at all. I didn’t really think about other nations, though.

37. Are minotaurs related to cows at all?

Whole different species. Perhaps they had a common ancestral, but now they are less related than whales and dolphins.

38. Do all zebras rhyme?

No. Just the shamans of that specific tradition. By the way, other species can be shamans too.

39. Do zebra cutie marks work the same way as pony cutie marks?

Yes. With cutie marks reflecting how the owner would represent his or her talent, the mechanism is roughly the same, though with zebras a blank flank is actually stripped; the stripes in their hindquarters change, or even vanish, in order to allow the cutie mark to show.

Incidentally, a pony raised by zebras, without knowing how pony cutie marks usually work, would have a black and white pattern similar to Zecora’s; while a zebra raised by ponies would have a conventional (and colored) pony cutie mark.

40. Do any species have types of magic, other than ponies and zebras?

As in, separate members of the species having different kinds of innate magic? Dragons, oneiroi, and likely some other races too.

As in, being innately magical? All species are, though not all of them externalize that magic. Dragons, for example, are highly magical, but not spellcasters.

As in, being able to use more than one type of magic? I consider that there are some kinds of magic that can be taught to nearly any species, including shaman magic like what Zecora uses, so the answer here is yes, most of them.

41. Is the lack of buffalo presence in Equestria cultural, or simply because most pony towns aren’t built to accommodate a full grown buffalo?

Cultural. But I consider that there is some buffalo presence in Equestria, just small and not really visible.

Headcanon and You:

42. Do you consider official sources other than the show (comics, card game text, movies, novels, etc.) to be canon?

For pony names, canon. For most other details, merely a suggestion, with the chapter books ranking above the rest.

43. Do you have one headcanon that you always use, or do you switch depending on projects?

I’m likely to keep one single, hopefully coherent headcanon through most of my stories. There are exceptions, since I’m currently only writing to prompts, like the Equestria Daily’s Writer’s Training Grounds and contests; not all prompts are compatible with my headcanon.

44. Can you easily accept the headcanons of different writers? Do you prefer when stories match your headcanon?

I prefer when they match, of course, but I have no issues when they don’t (apart from the fact I’m still building my headcanon, which means that a story that matches much of my own headcanon more readily serves as an inspiration source).

45. Is there a part of your headcanon that you wish was more popular among writers?

Not really. My headcanon is still too sparse to count.

46. Is there a popular piece of headcanon that other writers use that you dislike?

That any of the main characters are secretly evil. Hidden desires or urges that they fight against is fine — I did so in one of my stories — but being actually evil, no.

Also, much of the shipping. I tend to simply skip stories that ship any of the mane 7, unless the rest of the story is really good.

47. Have you ever written a story or blogpost just to explain some part of your headcanon (other than this one)?

A whole story, no. But I did info dumps in places, and in some cases went further than the story required.

As for blog post, this is my first one. I was actually considering one post to explain part of my headcanon in the past, but I think the effort would be better spent in creating an actual story that makes whichever part of my headcanon I want to tell explicit.

48. Does your headcanon influence things like your favorite pony, ship, or episode?

Not really.

49. Would it bother you if the show proved part of your headcanon wrong? Any specific piece that would really bother you to lose?

I doubt the show could disprove most of the headcanon that I really like in a way that I couldn’t salvage somehow. The only one I would hate to lose is that Celestia and Luna aren’t at godlike power levels.

50. Is there something that wasn't asked about here, but you feel like you need to explain to everyone?

From my stories?

Discord. I paint him as mainly a character that can only find entertainment by putting others (or himself) through unpredictable situations to see what will be the result. Finding ways to do that without harming other ponies is part of his rehabilitation; being locked in a prank war with Luna, and having the House of Enchanted Comics to observe how ponies react to the stories, keeps him in line nowadays.

Luna and the safety of ponies at night. The Everfree Forest was growing wild even before Nightmare Moon, causing ponies to stop traveling through it (and to the two sister princesses' castle) during the night, keeping to the safer day. This was part of the reason Luna snapped and turned into Nightmare Moon. Luna did attempt to make the night safe back then, which backfired due to her ongoing corruption; she resumed part of those efforts when she returned.